Arsenal are still yet to make contact with a midfielder long linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Arteta has brought in just two players so far this window, with David Raya arriving on a permanent deal from Brentford and Riccardo Calafiori signing from Atalanta. The biggest priority for the Gunners remains how do they break Manchester City's continued success.
Eddie Nketiah, Thomas Partey and Reiss Nelson are some of the names linked with a move away from the Emirates this summer, as Arteta looks to refresh his squad with Champions League football also soon to begin for Arsenal.
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Arsenal's long-standing interest in Mikel Merino from Real Sociedad has long been reported. According to Sports Witness, however, the Gunners decision-makers are yet to make contact on a club-to-club basis.
Merino is now said to have returned to pre-season training with La Real after recently helping Spain win the European Championships in Germany. The report further states how Merino's move is now just a matter of time, with the legalities soon to be completed.
Any deal is likely to cost around €30m (£25m) as Merino is in the final year of his deal and Transfermarkt values the 28-year-old at €50m (£43m). He played a total of 45 times for La Real last season, scoring eight times and registering five assists along the way.
"The next step has to come from within, from me, from analysing myself, seeing what player I am now, where I am and where I want to go. And what is the way to do it," he said earlier this year when quizzed on his future.
"Now at a football level, I still have one more year at Real and I am in the best possible place to live and grow. At the level of rumours, it is something that I do not give importance to because I believe that the Euros is the most important thing you can face and requires 100% of your attention.
"So when the Euro[s are] over and the days go by, I will meet with the club and my representative, to see what they have to say to me and what they don’t, and we’ll see."
In FourFourTwo's view, Arsenal could be waiting to make the move as part of a negotiating ploy. There's always a chance, however, that Merino may just be a Plan B midfield target – and that the Gunners are holding off from bidding to see how other moves play out.
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Meanwhile, the Gunners' owners have teased renovations at the Emirates Stadium.
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